Ideas+Inspiration: Caja eco

When traveling internationally one of my favorite things to do is check out the local grocery stores. There’s nothing like seeing familiar foods with unfamiliar names and branding, or new foods altogether. For example, cherimoya yogurt, or asking the guy in front of you in line what this is.

Not having been in South America in six years, and never this far south, I was surprised by something we didn’t find in grocery stores in the Southern towns of Pucon, Chile, and Bariloche, Argentina: plastic bags. The first time we were embarrassed of course that we’d come unprepared. We were delighted by the policy though! and happy to carry our dinner items home in hands and pockets.

Further North in Mendoza we saw a neat twist: a preferred line for those who didn’t need bags. I could see this catching on as an intermediate step in the US– what do you think? Have you seen it anywhere?